Why One Couple Gave a Big Tip After Getting Bad Service

They decided to 'pay it forward.'

An Iowa couple's random act of kindness for a stressed-out waiter has gone viral on Facebook, becoming an important lesson in empathy for the next time you go out to dinner.

Makenzie Schultz and her husband, Steven, said they had terrible service when they went to a restaurant Friday night. But they could tell their server was stretched too thin, not just being lazy. So because they both had held restaurant jobs in the past and could feel his pain, they say they left a sizable tip, and posted a photo of their receipt on Facebook.

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"Steven and I agreed it would feel good to make this guy's night when he would probably be getting minimal to no tips due to slow service," she wrote. "I'm just sharing this as a friendly reminder to think of the entire situation, before you judge. And always always always remember where you came from." The post has racked up more than 1.2 million "likes" on Facebook.

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A quick caveat: Stories like this sometimes turn out to be hoaxes. That's because it's very easy to simply write the tip out on the customer copy of the receipt, take that photo, and upload it to the Internet without being as generous on the merchant copy. And since the couple does work for a multi-level marketing firm, it could be a publicity stunt.

But even if it does end up to be fake, it teaches an important lesson – behind every bad restaurant meal is probably a frazzled server doing his or her best.